Here are the answers to Frequently Asked Questions:
Why don't I have an Edit This Page button?
Most pages in this wikispace are Locked so only the instructors can edit them. Any pages that have an arrow --> to the left of the page name in the Navigation Pane (on the left side of the screen) are open for editing by students. If you aren't able to edit one of those, you may not be logged in. To check this look in the top-ight corner to see if it says guest or your username. If guest is there, use the Sign In link to sign in with your username and password. If you don't have a username and password, join Wikispaces now and try again.
How do I make a link active (or clickable) for other viewers?
Copy/paste the entire web address (including the http portion) into the text you are adding to the wiki using these steps:
--> Click in the Addressbar of the webpage you are trying to reference so the entire web address is selected.
--> Do a <ctrl> <c> to copy.
--> Go to the wiki and click on Edit This Page.
--> Get your blinking insertion point where you want it and do a <ctrl> <v> for a paste.
--> To check your link--click the Save button for the page and try the link to see if it works.
These are some Troubleshooting Strategies for teachers planning to implement wikis in their classroom: Strategy #1: One of the best features of a wiki is that it is collaborative. This can also be a source of frustration. One downfall of a wiki is that it allows multiple people to edit, but each edit is saved over the top of the previous one. If only one person at a time edits that works fine.
Here's an explanation of when it doesn't work:
1) John clicks on Edit This Page and starts editing. (This creates a copy of the wiki page at that moment in time for John to work on.)
2) While John is still editing, Jane clicks on Edit This Page and starts editing. (This creates a copy of the wiki page at that moment in time for Jane to work on. Note that John's work has not been saved so Jane's copy of the page does not include his work.)
3) John finishes his work and Saves it.
4) Jane finishes her work and Saves it.
By Saving her work, Jane overwrites John's work.
To avoid this problem the easiest solution is that two people should not be editing the same wiki page at the same time. One way to address that in theclassroom is for each student to have his/her own page. That, however, severely limits the collaborative nature of the wiki. Another solution is to have the students work in small groups. This makes communication among members more manageable.
To minimize the likelihood of this happening have students type their information in a word-processing program. They can then Copy/Paste the information into the wiki page. This minimizes the amount of time they will be in Edit mode. (See Strategy #2 below if you choose this option.)
To fix this problem if it occurs, you can go into the History tab of the page and click on John's version of the page. You can Copy his content and use the Page tab to return to the most recent copy of the page, choose Edit this Page, and Paste John’s work into the proper place on the apge.
Strategy #2: If students Copy/Paste text from a word-processing program, such as Microsoft Word, into the wiki there are times that the hidden formatting characters that cause the text to do strange things in the wiki.
In MSWord you can select the text and choose Edit, Clear, Formats. That will often remove the hidden characters that are causing a problem.
In other word-processing programs on PC’s (not sure how this works on Macs) you can choose File, Save As and choose Plain Text in the Save As Type drop-down list. Close the document and then reopen it by double-clicking on the document name. This will open the document in Notepad. The non-formatted text can then be copied and pasted onto the wiki page. (Or you could simply have the students use Notepad when typing their text. It’s in the Accessories menu.)
Strategy #3: Give up.Just kidding.Technology can be frustrating. Wikis are purposely kept simple, but even they can get glitchy. Don't let that scare you off from using them. You'll get a couple troubleshooting tools in your arsenal and your confidence will soar. Since it's collaborative, you'll find that your students will figure out how to troubleshoot also and fix errors for you. You could even add a Help page to your wiki with troubleshooting tips for the contributors. You'll be amazed at what those students will do when empowered.
For help creating educational wikis, visit http://jdorman.wikispaces.com/wikiworkshop
Here are the answers to Frequently Asked Questions:
Most pages in this wikispace are Locked so only the instructors can edit them. Any pages that have an arrow --> to the left of the page name in the Navigation Pane (on the left side of the screen) are open for editing by students. If you aren't able to edit one of those, you may not be logged in. To check this look in the top-ight corner to see if it says guest or your username. If guest is there, use the Sign In link to sign in with your username and password. If you don't have a username and password, join Wikispaces now and try again.
Copy/paste the entire web address (including the http portion) into the text you are adding to the wiki using these steps:
--> Click in the Addressbar of the webpage you are trying to reference so the entire web address is selected.
--> Do a <ctrl> <c> to copy.
--> Go to the wiki and click on Edit This Page.
--> Get your blinking insertion point where you want it and do a <ctrl> <v> for a paste.
--> To check your link--click the Save button for the page and try the link to see if it works.
These are some Troubleshooting Strategies for teachers planning to implement wikis in their classroom:
Strategy #1:
One of the best features of a wiki is that it is collaborative. This can also be a source of frustration. One downfall of a wiki is that it allows multiple people to edit, but each edit is saved over the top of the previous one. If only one person at a time edits that works fine.
Here's an explanation of when it doesn't work:
1) John clicks on Edit This Page and starts editing. (This creates a copy of the wiki page at that moment in time for John to work on.)
2) While John is still editing, Jane clicks on Edit This Page and starts editing. (This creates a copy of the wiki page at that moment in time for Jane to work on. Note that John's work has not been saved so Jane's copy of the page does not include his work.)
3) John finishes his work and Saves it.
4) Jane finishes her work and Saves it.
By Saving her work, Jane overwrites John's work.
To avoid this problem the easiest solution is that two people should not be editing the same wiki page at the same time. One way to address that in the classroom is for each student to have his/her own page. That, however, severely limits the collaborative nature of the wiki. Another solution is to have the students work in small groups. This makes communication among members more manageable.
To minimize the likelihood of this happening have students type their information in a word-processing program. They can then Copy/Paste the information into the wiki page. This minimizes the amount of time they will be in Edit mode. (See Strategy #2 below if you choose this option.)
To fix this problem if it occurs, you can go into the History tab of the page and click on John's version of the page. You can Copy his content and use the Page tab to return to the most recent copy of the page, choose Edit this Page, and Paste John’s work into the proper place on the apge.
Strategy #2:
If students Copy/Paste text from a word-processing program, such as Microsoft Word, into the wiki there are times that the hidden formatting characters that cause the text to do strange things in the wiki.
In MSWord you can select the text and choose Edit, Clear, Formats. That will often remove the hidden characters that are causing a problem.
In other word-processing programs on PC’s (not sure how this works on Macs) you can choose File, Save As and choose Plain Text in the Save As Type drop-down list. Close the document and then reopen it by double-clicking on the document name. This will open the document in Notepad. The non-formatted text can then be copied and pasted onto the wiki page. (Or you could simply have the students use Notepad when typing their text. It’s in the Accessories menu.)
Strategy #3:
Give up. Just kidding. Technology can be frustrating. Wikis are purposely kept simple, but even they can get glitchy. Don't let that scare you off from using them. You'll get a couple troubleshooting tools in your arsenal and your confidence will soar. Since it's collaborative, you'll find that your students will figure out how to troubleshoot also and fix errors for you. You could even add a Help page to your wiki with troubleshooting tips for the contributors. You'll be amazed at what those students will do when empowered.